20 February – 7 March

One evening. Two couples. No place to hide.

Welcome to the small hours at George and Martha’s – the alcohol is flowing, the gloves are off, and the games are just getting started.

Edward Albee’s multi award-winning play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a wild, gripping and darkly funny exploration of the lies we tell to protect ourselves.

Disillusioned university professor George and his wife Martha invite an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, into their home. It’s not long before things spiral, dragging everyone into the heart of a tempestuous relationship. What starts as a spur of the moment nightcap turns into psychological show down.

Edward Albee’s masterpiece of raw intensity and searing insight is directed by Oxford Playhouse Artistic Director Mike Tweddle. Don’t miss one of the most explosive nights in modern theatre.

Directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director, Mike Tweddle, this will mark the first standalone drama produced by The Playhouse in two decades. Launching the venue into a renewed era, this production has been created in the heart of Oxford exclusively for the city’s audiences.

A play that the Artistic Director has wanted to bring to the stage for 30 years, he added:

“It’s also a real laboratory of human behaviour, because the audience gets to come in and see four people’s lives unfold and unravel in real time, every night. In some ways, this play is more like an event out than just a story told on stage, and there’s something very exciting about trying to harness that.”

The production stars award-winning actor and RSC Associate Artist Katy Stephens (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, And Then There Were None, Titus Andronicus), who plays Martha for the first time in her career, opposite Matthew Pidgeon as George, the disillusioned associate professor of history. Pidgeon’s extensive stage career includes Stranger Things: The First Shadow and has previously performed at Oxford Playhouse with the National Theatre of Scotland.

Martha, the daughter of the college president where George teaches, invites a young couple, Honey and Nick, back to their home after a faculty party, unwittingly drawing them into a night of psychological games, secrets, and emotional unravelling. Honey is played by Leah Haile, who has starred in the RSC production of The Winter’s Tale and has previously toured to The Playhouse in the acclaimed stage adaptation of The Lovely Bones. Nick is portrayed by Ben Hall, who has appeared in the RSC’s Henry VI: Rebellion / Wars of the Roses, as well as television’s The Day of the Jackal.

The set and costumes are designed by award-winning designer Liz Ascroft (The Homecoming and Only Fools and Horses: The Musical). The creative team also includes Max Pappenheim (Sound Designer & Composer), Ashley Bale and Will Hayman (Co-Lighting Designer), Yarit Dor (Fight & Intimacy Director), Jessica Mensah (Associate Director), Ben Newman (Assistant Director), Helena Palmer (Casting Director), and Nick Trumble (Dialect Coach).

This Oxford Playhouse production is produced by Leah O’Grady, with Jenny Topper as Consultant Producer, and Tom Freeman as Production Assistant.

Box Office: 01865 305305